WASHINGTON — Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Hà Kim Ngọc attended a meeting of the ASEAN Committee in Washington, the first held under Việt Nam’s chairmanship, on Monday (local time).

The ambassadors discussed preparations for the ASEAN-US Special Summit, to be held in Las Vegas on March 14, saying they appreciated the US for hosting the meeting with leaders of the Greater Mekong sub-region as well as various sideline events to promote bilateral co-operation in the Mekong region, technology, energy and women’s empowerment.

They asked Laos, the current co-ordinator for ASEAN-US relations, to continue maintaining close contact with the US side in order to provide an excellent reception, logistics services and content for the summit.

Ngọc briefed participants on the major outcomes of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) Retreat which took place in the resort city of Nha Trang in Khánh Hoà on January 17-18.

Ambassadors of other ASEAN nations congratulated Việt Nam on successfully hosting the AMM Retreat and praised the country for fostering common initiatives and its efforts to address regional and global issues, particularly the outbreak of the acute respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

At the meeting, the ASEAN Committee in Washington also held discussions with Acting Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade Diane Farrell and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia Laurie Farris from the US Department of Commerce.

Farrell spoke highly of ASEAN’s position in the regional economic structure, saying the US government wanted to maintain fair and open trade relations with ASEAN nations for regional development and prosperity.

The US Department of Commerce is looking to step up co-operation with ASEAN for the development of a network of smart cities and harmonisation of standards to ensure the compatibility of ASEAN exports to the US and increase ASEAN investment flow to the US as part of the SelectUSA programme. — VNS